The Secret Life of Micro-Influencers

They are the small people making a big noise. Yes, we’re talking micro-influencers, the short, shouty, mini-kings and queens of the soft play centre, who hate broccoli, know every word of Frozen and refuse to go to bed even though they’ve been identified by their parents as “definitely over-tired”.

These young social media dynamos are the real life boss babies of now, paid to turn up to events, designer dinners and fashion shows and charge big bucks for posts on their Instagram feeds. Why? Because what they lack in stature they make up in influence. Simply put: they’re huge.

“They are the leaders of a big market of small people who are growing all the time,” says trend forecaster, Evie, 8 ¾, who began networking with some of the biggest smallest influencers back in nursery school.

But who are these influencers and what are they like? Who is the real @Nanny Repeller, the real @MichelleBubbles? What lies behind the cute smiles that can so rapidly turn into screaming temper tantrums? And are they, as some parents suspect, literally getting too big for their boots (and vests and pants?)

Mother of Pearl wanted to know. So we invited some of the littlest big names to come on play-date, dress up in our newest collections and tell us the truth about fashion, sustainability and what it takes to be a big player in a small ball pit…

With 24,000 followers the petite @NannyRepeller looks charming in this season’s MoP Tilda dress with tulle. She has recently been associated with a very high-profile scientologist (“I can’t say,” she defers coyly), but she will readily admit that some of her best freebies have been “fairy cakes”. Her next big event is at “the play centre”. There she’ll be joined by “all of my friends. But,” she trails off, somewhat confusedly, “I don’t know who they are.”

Possibly not her her equally influential flatmate @MichelleBubbles (56k, wears a white sustainable shirt from MoP’s bridal collection), whom she is currently ignoring after Bubbles called her “Dracula’s daughter.” When questioned about the contre temps, which had Twitter alight, Bubbles herself will only lower her sunglasses and give one of the signature killer looks that have attracted a million Instagram likes.

With thoughts turning (thankfully) to sustainability @Litterisforlosers admits that the duo’s hope “is to look after the planet together,” adding that she is already doing her bit - “I look after animals. Animals that people be naughty too.” @MichelleBubbles is adamant that people “don’t use single-use plastic” – and surely if anyone can persuade people, it’s MichelleBubbles. “We will be killed if the world’s dead,” adds @FinnSnuggles, in his characteristic style, before giving us his straightforward opinion on No Frills, the name for Mother of Pearl’s two-years-in-the-making sustainable collection: “Hate it,” he says. Oh…